If it needs them in a crisis, CalFire can call from a list of ground-based air traffic controllers, though Hutchinson said she did not know whether those contractors would be allowed inside shuttered towers during a firestorm.

Doomsday?

Since the tower opened in January 2004, one fatal plane accident has taken place at Ramona Airport, according to National Transportation Safety Board records.

An 84-year-old man was killed when the experimental plane he was piloting crashed north of the runway on August 17, 2006. He was the only person onboard.

The tower was not in operation at the time of the crash, according to the records.

While flying is inherently dangerous, it doesn’t stop private pilots like Bill Howell of Santee from enjoying a cruise into Ramona about once a month.

The retired police officer said there’s usually one or two other planes circling near the airport, but it’s rarely busy.

“I don’t think it would be a problem at all,” Howell said of the tower closure. “I’d like to have the tower. It’s nice. It gives people jobs. But all this doomsday stuff … I don’t think it’s based on fact.”

Less experienced pilots such as Chuck Coburn of North Carolina disagree.

Coburn’s plane, a Cessna 172 SkyHawk, stalled on the Ramona Airport runway last week. He said the rural landing strip, located in the middle of a wide, mountain-ringed valley, is a popular spot for pilots in training like him.

On some days, there’s just one plane in the air. On other days, there’s a dozen or more, airport officials said.

Without those extra eyes, Coburn said, safety is “going to be an issue” in Ramona.